Garment-stretcher.



No. 652,589. Patented lune 26, |900.

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GARMENT STRETCHER.

(Application filed Oct. 17, 1899,)

(No Model.)

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RUFUS V. BROOKS, OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.

GARVIENTMS'IRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,589, dated June 26,1900. Application tiled October 1'7, 1899. Serial No. 733,864. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern..-

Be it known that I, RUFUS XV. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portsmouth, county ofV Norfolk, and State of Virginia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Form-Restorers forPantaloons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to devices for facilitating the work ot'skilled tailors in causing bagged or distorted pantaloons to reassumethe form of new garments, creased or not, as may be desired, and forenabling persons wholly without the tailors skill to secure thelikeresults easily and with certainty. So far as I am aware there has beenheretofore no satisfactory appliance for this purpose. It has beencommon to stretch the whole garment as a means for restoringr the baggedpart to proper shape or rendering it inconspicuous by distorting theparts which needed no stretching, common to crease the garment whiledistorted, and common to combine the stretching and pressing in variousproportions, always stretching parts which should not be stretched.

My simple devices provide forgently stretclr ing the whole garment, sothat it may be smooth, clamping the whole garment flat, and thenapplying tension to such part only as may need it, al1 with or withoutthe general or local application of heat or moisture, or both.

In the drawings, Figure l isa side view of one form of the apparatus asit appears in use. Figs. 2 and 3 are right and left edge views, respectively, of the same devices. 5 are sections on the lines t 4 and 55, respectively, of the same devices seen in Fig. 1.

In the views, A B are similar superposed frames of keystone-like outlineconnected at one side by hinges O and provided with hooks D at theopposite side, so that they may be opened,vclosed, and secured like abook provided wtha clasp. Between these two frames, whose plane surfacesnormally meet or closely approach each other, the garments to beloperated upon are pressed and allowed to remain as long as may bedeemcdnecessary.

Figs. t andV As shown, each frame consists of two side hars E,permanently united near one end by crossbars F F and, it desired, by athird cross-bar F3 near the other end. Between the cross-bar F' and thecross-bar F3, if the latter is used, are cross-bars G F2, which slidebodily, always parallel to the other cross-bars, along the side bars E,which are grooved to receive their ends. Plates .I are secured to thefixed cross-bars F F', and analogous plates K are Iixed to the slidingcross-bars Gr F2. Between the latter is a rod I, revolubly mounted inthe side bars E and having at each end a ratchetwheel L', whose rotationin one direction may be prevented by a pawl I2. Cords I-I, winding uponthis rod, are attached to the cross-bar G, while oppositely-wound cordsI-I' are connected in like manner to the cross-bar F2, so that as oneset of cords is wound by rotation of the rod the other set is unwound11and the cross-bars and the attached plate K are thus forcibly carriedalong the side bars E. Between the plates J I( is a series ofindependent clamps made up of slats L, which slide freely along the sidebars E, in grooves formed in the latter, with their inner faces Hushwith both the plates J K and the side bars. The upper broad plates pressand hold practically without strain the whole thigh portion of thegarment. The contiguous pairs of slats press the knee portion, while bytheir narrowness and separability permitting longitudinal stretching,and the broad lower plates hold the entire lower leg portion pressed inplane form, but not under tension. rlhe plates and slats, as a whole,form two approximatelycontinuous plane surfaces, between which a garmentmay be compressed. Preferably a cloth layer M is placed over each ofthese surfaces, but without being attached to any sliding part, and eachlayer may be of two parts overlapping centrally between the ends of theframe.

In use the apparatus is laid upon its side, the hooks are disengaged,and it is then opened book-like. A cloth M, if not secured to the frame,is then spread smoothly over the slats and plates,and upon it thegarmentis smoothed out in the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig.l. A similar cloth is then laid over the garment, and the frame isclosed and secured by the hooks, the arrangement being such that thegarment is pressed with a considerable degree of force. In proceedingthus far the cloths are first well moistened, if a crease is desired,butotherwise are only slightly dampened to impart freshness to the goods orare used without moisture. The distorted portions of the garment,usually the knees, are well moistened, however, while the frame is stillopen. The garment being clamped as described, its lower part is heldbetween the fixed plates J, its upper portion between the sliding platesK, and the intermediate or knee portion is held in a series of narrowcloselyadjacent separable clamps. If now the rod be rotated in theproper direction, the cords H unwind and the cords II wind, drawingupward the plates K and that portion of the garment clamped betweenthem. Thus without strain upon the upper and lower portions of thegarment the knee portion is subjected to any desired tension, and as itstretches the narrow slats separate slightly, leaving a narrow spacebetween adjacent clamps or pairs of slats. In thus moving with the goodsthese clamps continue to exert all the pressure that is practicallyneeded, but not enough to prevent the narrowing of the garment in eachclamp. This slight separation has no eiect upon the appearance of thegarment when removed from the apparatus, for the angles of the slats, aswell as of all other parts pressing the cloth, are rounded, so as toleave no imprint.

The cords winding upon the rod I are connected with the slidingcross-bars of one frame only, and to insure the simultaneous movement ofthe corresponding parts in the other frame removable pins N may bepassed through both sets of plates KK. Vhen the garment is to bereleased, the pawls are disengaged, and it the rod be then rotated inthe contrary direction the cords H are unwound, while the cords II arewound, thus positively drawing the upper clamp downward to initialposition.

Heat may be applied to the plates or slats over any part, if desired,and to increase shrinkage heat and cold may alternate.

It is obvious that the means for stretching may be varied in many waysand that in other respects the construction chosen for illustration neednot be closely followed, and I do not therefore wish to limit myself tosuch construction, but desire to claim my invention broadly as Well asspecifically.

What I claim isl. In a trousers-stretcher, means for clamping thegarment at one end and means for clamping the garment at the other end,means for adjusting one of said clamping members with respect to theother, combined with a series of readily-separable narrow clamps, saidseries being intermediate the clamping members, and having theirpressingffaces normally forming a practically-continuous surface, as setforth;

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with means forrigidly clamping the entire thigh portion of a pair of pantaloons atonce creasing the same and preventing stretching thereof, means forsimilarly clamping the entire lower leg portion, means for forciblyincreasing the distance between the two portions so clamped, to stretchthe knee portion only, and a series of narrow clamps arranged to holdsaid knee portion flat while permitting its stretching whereby the topand bottom portions of the garment are creased and held flat, while theknee portion only is stretched and creased.

,3. The combination with a pair of broad pressing-plates to cover theentire thigh portion of a pair of pantaloons, of a second pair of platesto similarly press the entire lower leg portion, a series of contiguous,separable pairs of transverse slats approximately filling the spacebetween .the pairs of plates, means for locking all the plates and slatstogether in pairs and in garment-pressing position, and means for thenforcibly increasing the distance between the two pairsof plates.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

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Witnesses:

GEO. T; TILLEY, WM. H. L. GARLETT.

